Oiler for shaft-bearings.



PATENTED OCT. 4,1904.

v W. M. GOFPMAN.

OILER FOR SHAFT BEARINGS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.11, 1904. N0 MODEL. l

2 Z ,u N ///////g(( x\xex Y Y. Y g QSE M fm i t i n n "wff-Tifiw/TA/Essfs;

A TTOHNE YS Patented October 4,'1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER M. COFFMAN, OFMADISON, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO NORTHERN ELECTRICALMANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF VIS- CON SIN.

OILER FOR SHAFT-BEARINGS. l

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 771,231, dated October4, 1904. Application iiled February ll, 1904. Serial IIa-193,084. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, WALTER M. COFFMAN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Madison, in the county of Dane and State of Wisconsin,have invented a new and Improved Oiler for Shaft-Bearings, of which thefollowing is afull, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates particularly to improvements in automatic Oilersfor vertical shaft-bearings, an object being to provide an oiler ofsimple and inexpensive construction that will provide a Vcontinuoussupply of oil, whether the shaft be running fast or slow, and soarranged that the surplus of oil will flow back to the reservoir to beused over again, thus resulting in economy of oil.

I will describe an oiler for shaft-bearings embodying my invention andthen point out the novel features in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of referenceindicatecorresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of an oiler for shaft-bearingsembodying my invention; and Fig. 2 is a similar section', but showing amodification.

Referring' to the drawings, l'designates the vertical shaft arranged torotate in a bearing-sleeve 2, and having screw-thread engagement withthe upper projected end ofthe shaft is a nut 3, which is practically aportion of the shaft and should be so considered. The upper portion ofthe sleeve is provided with a cup l for receiving the oil, as will behereinafter described, and arranged between the iiange at the lower endof the nut 3 and the bottom wall of the cup 4 are bearing-rings 5 6 ofany suitable material.

Arranged around the upper portion of the sleeve 2 is anexteriorly-threaded collar 7, and an exteriorly-threaded collar 8engages around the lower portion of said sleeve. These collars 7 and 8are secured together and held closely in relation to the bearing-sleeveby means of a casing 9, which may serve as a support for the'bearing.Arranged in the lower end of the collar 8 and surrounding the shaftYlength and fitted loosely within the tube.

is a reservoir 10 for the lubricant, and arranged around the shaftbetween the shoulder 11 thereof and the lower end of the sleeve 2 is abearing-ring 12, the periphery of which is tapered downward and outward.The inner side of the sleeve 2 is provided with a channel 13, whichforms a duct or port for the passage of oil back into the reservoir 10,as the lower end of said channel communicates with the reservoir and theupper end communicates, through a port 14, with the cup 4L. The wall ofthe bearing-sleeve 2 is provided with a longitudinal bore 15, which, asshown, gradually increases in size radially from its lower end to itsupper end, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described.

Loosely arranged in the bore 15 is a tube 16, which extends upwardthrough a bore in the collar 7 and terminates above the same in afunnel-shaped tube 17, from which a spout 18 leads into the cup 4. Thisspout 18 will be of suflicient size to permit of a free How of oil, andit may be open at the top, if desired. The lower end of the tube isprovided with a port 19, through which oil may pass from the reservoirinto said tube.

Removably placed Within the tube 16 is an oil-conveyer, here shown as astem 20, having a spiral blade 21 extended throughout Ci)ts n the upperend of the stemQO is secured a friction-disk 22, which in this instancebears against the nut 3, but practically against the shaft. This diskmay be made of any suitable material-such, for instance, as metal,fiber, hard rubber, or the like-and its frictional engagement with theshaft may be regulated by means of a spiral spring 23, arranged in atube 211, extending through the casing 9, and the end of said springbears against the tube 16. The tension of the spring may be regulated bya screw 25, operating in said tube 24.

In the operation as the shaft rotates the rotary movement will beimparted to the spiral conveyer, and the oil received from the reservoirinto the tube 16 will be carried continuously and evenly upward anddischarged through the spout 18 into the cup 11, and thence the oil willpass through the port 14 into the channel 13 and in iiowing down theshafting will gather up enough oil for lubricating' purposes, andthesurplus oil will iiow back into the reservoir, as before mentioned, tobe used again.

In Fig. 2 the construction is practically the same in the essentialfeatures as the construction above described. In this instance, however,the channel 26 in the bearing-sleeve 27 communicates directly with a cupQ8 at .the upper end of the bearing-sleeve, and the conveyer 2O` passesthrough a longitudinal bore in a lower collar 29, to which the reservoiris attached. In making the conveyer and its tube removable it may bereadily cleaned when necessary, or another conveyer may be placed in thetube with the spiral running in the opposite direction to the one shown.This will depend, of course, upon the direction of rotation of theshaft.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. An oiler forvertical shaft-bearings, comprisingincombination with a shaft and a bearing-sleeve, the said sleeve having acup at its upper end, a reservoir arranged at the lower portion of thesleeve, a tube extended parallel with the shaft and communicating at itslower end with said reservoir, means for conducting oil from said tubeinto the cup with the bearing-sleeve, the said bearing-sleeve having aninterior channel providing communication between the cup and reservoir,and a spiral conveyer arranged in the tube and rotated by the shaft.

2. An oiler for shaft-bearings, comprising a bearing-sleeve providedwith a longitudinal channel at its inner side and having' a cup at itsupper end communicating' with said channel, a reservoir arranged at thelower end of the bearing-sleeve and communicating with said channel, thesaid bearing-sleeve being provided with a longitudinal bore, a tuberemovably inserted inl said bore and having communication at its lowerend with the reservoir, a spiral conveyer removably arranged in saidtube, a spout leading from the upper end of said tube into the 'cup ofthe bearingsleeve, and a friction-disk at the upper end of the conveyerand having operative engagement with the shaft.

3. In a shaft-oiling mechanism, the combination with a vertical shaft,of a bearing-sleeve therefor having a cup at its upper end and aninterior longitudinal channeLthe said sleeve also having a longitudinalbore through its wall, the said bore increasing in diameter from thelower end upward, a reservoir supported around the shaft below thebearing-sleeve and communicating with said channel in the sleeve, a tuberemovably arranged in the bore of the bearing-sleeve and communicatingat its lower end with the reservoir, a spout leading from the upper endof the tube to the cup `at the upper end of the bearing-sleeve, a stemarranged in the tube, a spirally-disposed blade on said stem, afriction-disk on the outer end of said stem for engaging with the shaft,a spring for holding the disk against the shaft, and means for adjustingthe tension of the spring.

1. In an oiling mechanism for vertical shafting, the combination with ashaft, of a bearing-sleeve therefor, having' a cup at its upper end andan interior longitudinal shaft communicating' with said cup, the saidsleeve having a longitudinal bore through its wall, a collar engaging'around the upper portion of the sleeve, a collar engaging' around thelower portion of the sleeve, a casing having screwthread engagement withsaid collars, an oilreservoir supported in the lower collar, a tubeextended through the bore of the sleeve and into the reservoir andcommunicating with said reservoir, a funnel-shaped upper end for saidtube, a spout leading from said funnelshaped upper end into the cup, astem extended into said tube, aspirally-disposed blade on said stem. afriction-disk on the outer end of said stem for engaging with the shaft,a spring engaging at one end with said tube for yield- Vingly pressingthe disk against the shaft, a

tube arranged in the casing and in which said spring' is placed, and ascrew operating in said sleeve and engaging with the spring.

5. In combination, avertical rotatable shaft, a bearing-sleeve therefor,an oil-reservoir at the lower end of said sleeve, a passage leading fromsaid reservoir to the upper end of said sleeve, an oil-conveyer locatedin said passage, and a driving connection between the conveyer and saidshaft.

6. In combination, a vertical rotatable shaft, a bearing therefor, anoil-reservoir at the lower end of said bearing, a passage leading fromsaid reservoir to a point adjacent to the upper end of said bearing, arotatable oil-conveyer located in said passage, and means for causing'the movement of said shaft to rotate said conveyer.

7 In combination, a vertical rotatable shaft, a bearing-sleeve therefor,an oil-reservoir located at the lower end of said bearing-sleeve, a tubesubstantially parallel to the shaft having its lower end inserted insaid reservoir and its upper end adjacent to the upper end of saidsleeve, a screw conveyer located in said tube, and a driving connectionbetween the conveyer and the shaft.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

WALTER M. COFFMAN.

Witnesses:

L. A. AVERY, HARRY L. BUTLER.

IOO

IIS

